Catawba River
2006 controversy
As of 2006 the river is at the center of a controversy. Residents of Cabarrus County, North Carolina feel that they have the right to pump water from the river to help keep up with the demands of the county's increasing population. The Cabarrus plan calls for taking water from the Catawba and pumping the cleaned waste water into the Yadkin River, east of Cabarrus. Residents of the Catawba watershed oppose and have protested this plan. Residents of the watershed (which includes Charlotte, North Carolina) feel that the plan would ruin the river, which is vital to the economies of several towns, including Valdese, North Carolina, Connelly Springs, NC, and Hildebran NC. Valdese held a town hall meeting on the subject during which Catawba officials were heavily booed. They did not fare much better in another meeting held later in Charlotte. <1>
Proponents of the plan say that Cabarrus needs the water, while detractors say it will ruin the Catawba because it would not have enough water to withstand a severe drought, not uncommon in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Whatever the case may be, taking water from the Catawba River and pumping it into the Yadkin area may cause a shortage of water for the many residents that receive their water from the Catawba River.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catawba_River